English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The origins of English words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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From un- + functional.

From un- + jinx.

From up- + draft.

From weary + -able.

From vend + -ee.

From un- + princely.

Learned borrowing from Old English werġeld, wereġeld (“compensation for a man killed”), from Proto-West Germanic *werageld. More at wer, geld.

Initialism of Vx, single-engine.

From view + finder.

From un- + install.

From Middle English wapentake, wepentake, wapentache, wapentac, from Old English wǣpenġetæc, from Old Norse vápnatak, from vápn (“weapon”) + taka (“take”), equivalent to weapon + take.

From Middle English unkyndenesse; equivalent to unkind + -ness.

From whimsical + -ity.

Borrowed from Spanish vizcacha, from Quechua wisk'acha.

Inherited from Middle English unstedefast, from Old English unstædefast; equivalent to un- + steadfast.

PIE word *sḗh₂l From weak (adjective) + sauce (noun), referring to a sauce that lacks flavour. By surface analysis, weak + -sauce (suffix used to add emphasis to adjectives).

From Middle English unresonably, equivalent to unreasonable + -ly, after resonably (whence reasonably) and (originally) Late Latin irratiōnābiliter.

From what do you call it. Compare whatdoyoucallit.

From Latin virgula (“twig; wand; scratch comma”), from virga (“branch; rod”) + -ulus (“-ule: forming diminutives”). As a dowsing rod, via virgula divina or divinatoria. Doublet of virgule.

From valuate + -or.

Earliest known use is from 1854 (see quotations).

From whack(y) + job(bie).

From whip + stitch.